The present invention relates to a vertical plate freezer of the type comprising a plurality of vertical freezer plates arranged side by side in rows with spaces therebetween, the spaces serving to receive the material to be frozen, and where vertically displaceable bottoms are arranged in these spaces, the bottoms being connected to a lifting device.
In the prior art plate freezers of this type the lifting device comprises a vertical rack extending along one side of the row of freezer plates and projecting well above same. The rack has projecting arms which support the displaceable bottoms, and all arms are linked to a vertically displaceable frame which is guided at each end in vertical guideways at the ends of the plate freezer. Since the rack for guiding the arms projects above the upper edges of the freezer plates, the plate freezer is accessible only with difficulty from one of the long sides. This limits the possibilities as regards the installation of the plate freezer in that it has to be observed that the side of the plate freezer opposite that of the lifting device will be oriented so as to allow optimum filling. Furthermore, this construction has the disadvantage that filling of material into the spaces between the freezer plates should preferably be made from the same side as the one from which the frozen material is removed.